Remote located clutch

ABSTRACT

A drive package includes a remote located CVT and a motor where the CVT is positioned rearward (or forward) of the motor. An auxiliary drive mechanism couples a drive shaft of the CVT to a crankshaft of the motor. The auxiliary drive mechanism is a belt or chain. The drive shaft is substantially parallel to, and longitudinally offset from, the crankshaft. Thus, the width of the drive package is reduced as compared to ATVs having a CVT located adjacent the motor. A method of making an ATV with the drive package is provided.

PRIORITY CLAIM

The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 15/420,925, entitled REMOTE LOCATED CLUTCH, filed Jan. 31,2017, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/245,901, entitled REMOTE LOCATED CLUTCH, filed Apr. 4, 2014, andissued as U.S. Pat. No. 9,592,725 on Mar. 14, 2017 the content of whichis hereby incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates to a drive package for vehicles, and moreparticularly, to a drive package with a remote located continuouslyvariable transmission (CVT) for an all-terrain vehicle.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Vehicles, particularly straddle-type all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), havelimited area to house the drive components of the vehicle, such as amotor and a transmission. Presently, most all-terrain vehicles have aCVT with a drive clutch positioned laterally of the motor. Thecrankshaft of the motor extends to or is coupled to the drive clutch ofthe CVT, such that the drive clutch is laterally adjacent (typically tothe left or right) of the motor. This configuration consumes a certainwidth below an operator riding area, such as the foot-wells (or seat) ofthe vehicle, because the motor and the CVT are positioned primarilybelow the riding area upon which a rider sits. The result is that thefoot-wells of the vehicle are spaced apart by the certain distancedictated by of the drive clutch of the CVT being adjacent the motor. Itis advantageous to reduce the width of the drive package, in part,because the distance between the foot-wells, and the resulting vehiclewidth, are important design factors considering the various sizes ofriders, ergonomic factors, and the width regulations that apply tocertain all-terrain vehicles.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention overcomes the disadvantages of the prior-art drivesystems by providing an all-terrain vehicle with a remote-located CVTpositioned rearward (or forward) of a motor. An auxiliary drivemechanism (e.g., a belt) couples the CVT to the motor. As such, thedrive package width is reduced, and therefore, the foot-wells of thevehicle are closer together as compared to a comparable ATV with a driveclutch driven directly by the crankshaft.

In a preferred embodiment, an ATV includes a front pair of groundengaging members (e.g., wheels) and a rear pair of ground engagingmembers (at least one pair for moving the vehicle). Naturally, the ATVincludes a motor having a crankshaft for transferring rotational powerto a transmission for rotation of the ground engaging members. Here, thevehicle includes a CVT with a drive clutch shaft rotatably coupled tothe crankshaft and positioned either rearward or forward of thecrankshaft. In either configuration, the drive clutch shaft ispreferably substantially parallel to, and longitudinally and/orvertically offset from, the crankshaft. In the preferred embodiment, thedrive clutch shaft is positioned rearward the crankshaft (FIGS. 1 and2). An auxiliary drive mechanism rotatably couples the drive clutchshaft to the crankshaft. The auxiliary drive mechanism may be one of abelt, chain, or shaft, but preferably a belt. Because the auxiliarydrive mechanism can be a relatively thin belt, for example, the drivepackage width is reduced because the CVT is positioned rearward themotor (FIG. 2), as opposed to on one side of the motor as with manyexisting ATVs.

As with many CVTs, the drive clutch is attached to a driven clutch by aCVT belt. The driven clutch is coupled to an output member and a gearboxsystem for rotating one or both of the front pair and the rear pair ofground engaging members. Typically, the gearbox system would be atransaxle for rotation of a rear axle coupled to the rear pair of groundengaging members (FIG. 2).

In some embodiments, the ATV includes a secondary drive mechanismrotatably coupled to one of the crankshaft and the drive clutch shaftfor providing motive power to at least one auxiliary device attachableto the ATV. In some embodiments, a stator is secured to the side of themotor at the end of the crankshaft on an opposing side of the motor fromthe auxiliary drive mechanism to provide electrical energy from therotation of the crankshaft. Alternatively, the stator assembly can beattached to the drive clutch shaft (which is in continuous rotation withthe crank shaft) to further reduce the width of the entire drivepackage.

In some embodiments, a centrifugal clutch may be attached to one of thecrankshaft and the drive clutch shaft. As such, the centrifugal clutchprovides engagement of either the crankshaft or the drive clutch shaft(as the case may be) as revolutions per minute exceed a certainthreshold.

A method is provided for making a drive package for an ATV having afront pair and a rear pair of ground engaging members. The methodincludes, in any particular suitable order, attaching a motor having acrankshaft to the vehicle and coupling an auxiliary drive mechanism(e.g., a belt) to the crankshaft, so that the auxiliary drive mechanismis rotatably drivable by the crankshaft. The method further includespositioning a drive shaft of a CVT rearward of the crankshaft, andcoupling the auxiliary drive mechanism to the drive shaft. Accordingly,rotation of the crankshaft causes movement of the auxiliary drivemechanism, thereby causing rotation of the drive shaft to move one orboth of the front pair or rear pair ground engaging members.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Preferred and alternative examples of the present invention aredescribed in detail below with reference to the following drawings:

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a drive package of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a top view of an ATV with the drive package of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a left side view of the ATV of FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIG. 1 shows a drive package 10 for an ATV 12 (FIGS. 2 and 3) in apreferred embodiment. The drive package 10 includes a motor M having acrankshaft 14, in a similar manner to many motors and crankshafts onATVs. Attached to the crankshaft 14 is a first pulley or gear 16.Rotatably coupled to the first gear 16 is an auxiliary drive mechanism18, such as a belt or chain, extending from a lateral end of thecrankshaft 14. A second pulley or gear 20 is also rotatably coupled tothe auxiliary drive mechanism 18. Attached to the second gear 20 is adrive shaft 22, such as a drive clutch shaft. The first gear 16, thesecond gear 20, and the auxiliary drive mechanism 18 may be covered by ahousing 24. As the motor M rotates the crankshaft 14 and the gear 16rotate in a counter-clockwise direction, for example, as the auxiliarydrive mechanism 18 is translated and thereby rotates the gear 20 anddrive shaft 22 in the same direction.

The drive shaft 22 is drivingly engaged to a CVT 26. The CVT 26 includesa drive clutch 28 attached to the drive shaft 22. The drive clutch 28 isrotatably coupled to a driven clutch 30 by a CVT belt 25 (FIG. 3). Adriven shaft 32 is attached to the driven clutch 30 and coupled to a setof gears 34 (or a gearbox 34; FIG. 2) for transferring rotational energyto a rear axle and to a front drive member 36, which is coupleable to afront pair of wheels (FIG. 2). In operation, as the drive shaft 22 isrotated by the crankshaft 14 via the auxiliary drive mechanism 18, thedrive clutch 28 rotates the CVT belt 25 that rotates the driven clutch30, and consequently rotates the driven shaft 32. The driven shaft 32may cause rotation of either or both of a front axle or rear axle of avehicle (e.g., the vehicle of FIG. 2).

Of importance, the CVT 26 is positioned rearward of the motor M andcrankshaft 14, in the preferred embodiment. The CVT 26 is coupled to themotor M by the auxiliary drive mechanism 18. Because the auxiliary drivemechanism does not include the relatively wide clutches of a CVT, thedrive package width (or envelope width) of the package 10 is reduced ascompared to existing packages where the drive clutch is immediatelyadjacent the left side of the motor. The result is a drive package thathas a noticeably reduced width as compared to existing packageconfigurations.

FIG. 2 is a top view of the vehicle 12 having mounted thereto the drivepackage 10 described with reference to FIG. 1. The vehicle 12 includes aframe 38 (schematically shown), a front axle 40, and a front pair ofground engaging members 42 (e.g., wheels in this example). A rear axle46 is also coupled to the frame 38 and is coupled to a rear pair ofground engaging members 44. From this view, it will be appreciated thatthe drive clutch shaft 22 is longitudinally offset from the crankshaft14. Thus, the crankshaft 14 has a longitudinal axis A that issubstantially parallel to, and spatially forward of, a longitudinal axisB of the drive shaft 22. Thus, the crankshaft 14 is oriented transverseto a longitudinal axis of the vehicle. This provides the advantage ofproviding a predefined envelope E with a predefined width W because thedrive clutch 28 is not positioned laterally adjacent the motor M andcrankshaft 14, as with existing systems. Here, the drive clutch 28 isrearward the motor M in the preferred embodiment while the crankshaftstill exits the side of the engine for transfer of rotational power.Alternatively, the drive clutch 28 and CVT 26 may be positioned forwardof the motor M. In some embodiments, depending upon the type of motorused, width W is between 16 inches and 23 inches. In a preferredembodiment, width W is 16 inches or less. One preferred example, with asingle cylinder engine, width W is preferably 21.5 inches, or less insome configurations. Using a parallel twin cylinder engine, width W ispreferably 23 inches, or less in some configurations.

As discussed with reference to FIG. 1, the driven clutch 30 rotates thedriven shaft 32, which is coupled to the gearbox 34. In a preferredembodiment, the gearbox 34 is a transaxle coupled to the rear axle 46(gearbox 34 is longitudinally exaggerated in FIG. 2 for purposes ofillustrating the configuration of the CVT rearward the motor). A halfshaft of the rear axle will typically extend from each side of thegearbox 34 to the right and left wheels. As will be appreciated fromFIG. 2, each power transfer linkage from the crankshaft 14, to the driveshaft 22, to the driven shaft 32, to the rear axle 46, are each zerodegree power transfer linkages relative to each other. Thus, thecrankshaft 14, drive shaft 22, driven shaft 32, gears of gearbox 34(FIG. 1), and rear axle 46 each have an axis of rotation substantiallyparallel to each other (respectively labeled A, B, C, D, and E). Suchconfiguration is advantageous because it improves the engine efficiencyby minimizing energy losses due to zero-degree power transfer linkagesfrom the crankshaft 14 all the way to the axle 46, for example.

A left foot-well 47 and a right foot-well 49 are disposed on either sideof the predefined envelope E. Because the predefined width W is 21.5inches or less, in a preferred embodiment, the foot-wells 47 and 49 arepositionable closer together than with existing ATVs. Not only is suchspacing ergonomically comfortable, the spare spacing provides room forother vehicle features, including reduced overall width.

In some embodiments, a supplemental gear 48 is attached to the driveshaft 22, and a secondary drive mechanism 50 is rotatably coupled to thesupplemental gear 48 on drive shaft 22 for providing power to at leastone auxiliary device X attachable to the vehicle 12. The at least oneauxiliary device X may be one or more of a water pump, oil pump,compressor, or other device that requires power transfer from thecrankshaft of the engine. Advantageously, attaching such devices to thedrive clutch shaft (instead of the crankshaft) further reduces theoverall width of the drive package. In some embodiments, a centrifugalclutch 51 is coupled to the drive shaft 22 and is actuated at athreshold rotational speed of the drive shaft 22. Of course, an upstreamshaft and a downstream shaft (in the drive train sense) would beattached to either side of the centrifugal clutch 51, as with a typicalcentrifugal clutch configuration. In the configuration shown with thesupplemental gear 48 upstream of the centrifugal clutch 51, duringrelatively low rpms (e.g., when the motor idles) the supplemental gear48 is rotated but the centrifugal clutch 51 is not yet actuated. Inother embodiments (not shown on the figures), the supplemental gear 48can be positioned downstream the centrifugal clutch 51 such that thesupplemental gear 48 is not rotated until the centrifugal clutch 51engages as rotational speed reaches the threshold.

In some embodiments, a stator 52 is coupled to the crankshaft 14 on anopposing side on the motor M from the auxiliary drive mechanism 18. Thestator 52 forms part of an alternator to produce electricity for vehiclefunctions such as for powering electrical devices of the ATV.

In some embodiments, the gearbox 34 is coupled to the axle 46 (typicallytwo half shafts) and the rear pair of ground engaging members 44 fortwo-wheel or four-wheel drive operation of the vehicle 12. It will beappreciated that the preferred drive configuration between the drivenclutch 30 and the rear pair of ground engaging members 44 is a commontransaxle configuration. Alternatively, a separate rear drive case mayextend from a transmission to drive the rear wheels.

FIG. 3 shows a left side view of the ATV of FIG. 2. As can beappreciated from this view, the CVT 26 is positioned rearward the motorM. Accordingly, the drive shaft 22 coupled to the drive clutch 28 ispositioned rearward and spatially separate from the crankshaft 14.

While the preferred embodiments of the invention have been illustratedand described, as noted above, many changes can be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, thescope of the invention is not limited by the disclosure of the preferredembodiment. Instead, the invention should be determined entirely byreference to the claims that follow.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property orprivilege is claimed are defined as follows:
 1. A vehicle having afore-and-aft axis and a side-to-side axis, the vehicle comprising: amotor having an output shaft; a CVT having a drive clutch secured to adrive shaft rotatably coupled to the motor output shaft via a drivemechanism extending transverse to the motor output shaft, the drivemechanism being a belt, chain, or shaft, the CVT drive shaft beinglongitudinally and/or vertically offset from the motor output shaft andsubstantially parallel to the motor output shaft; the CVT having adriven clutch coupled to the drive clutch, the driven clutch having adriven shaft offset from and substantially parallel to the motor outputshaft, wherein the drive shaft and the driven shaft are disposed on asame fore or aft side of the motor output shaft; and an output memberrotatably coupled to and driven by the CVT driven shaft, the outputmember driving a ground engaging member of the vehicle, the outputmember passing under the drive shaft.
 2. The vehicle of claim 1, whereinthe motor output shaft is oriented transverse to a longitudinal axis ofthe vehicle, the motor including a casing and the drive mechanism beingsecured to the motor output shaft external to said motor casing.
 3. Thevehicle of claim 2, further comprising a secondary drive mechanismrotatably coupled to the CVT drive shaft for providing motive power toat least one auxiliary device.
 4. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein thedrive mechanism comprises a drive belt, the motor output shaft having amotor pulley secured thereto, said motor pulley engaging the drive belt,further wherein the CVT drive shaft includes a drive pulley engaged withthe drive belt.
 5. The vehicle of claim 4, wherein the drive beltextends from an end of the motor output shaft at a lateral side of themotor, the belt extending in a fore-aft direction.
 6. The vehicle ofclaim 1, wherein the motor output shaft has a longitudinal axisspatially forward of, a longitudinal axis of the CVT drive shaft.
 7. Thevehicle of claim 1, further comprising a stator coupled to the CVT driveshaft.
 8. The vehicle of claim 1, further comprising a centrifugalclutch entrained between the motor output shaft and the CVT drive shaft.9. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the driven shaft is rotatably coupledto another output member for rotating a rear axle coupled to a rear pairof ground engaging members.
 10. The vehicle of claim 1, furthercomprising a supplemental gear attached to the CVT drive shaft forpowering at least one device attachable to the vehicle.
 11. The vehicleof claim 1, wherein the motor is an internal combustion engine and themotor output shaft is a crankshaft.
 12. The vehicle of claim 1, whereinthe vehicle is an all-terrain vehicle with at least four wheelsdrivingly entrained with the CVT driven shaft.
 13. A drive package foran all-terrain vehicle having at least one pair of ground engagingmembers, the drive package comprising: a motor having an output shaft,the motor output shaft having a lateral end extending from the motor; acoupling drive mechanism rotatably coupled to the lateral end of themotor output shaft and extending transverse to a longitudinal axis ofthe motor output shaft; a drive shaft of a CVT, the drive shaftrotatably coupled to the coupling drive mechanism, the CVT drive shaftbeing substantially parallel to the motor output shaft; and an outputmember rotatably coupled to and driven by a driven shaft of the CVT, theoutput member driving a ground engaging member of the vehicle, theoutput member passing under the drive shaft, wherein the drive shaft andthe driven shaft are disposed on a same fore or aft side of the motoroutput shaft.
 14. The drive package of claim 13, wherein coupling drivemechanism is a belt, a chain or a shaft.
 15. The drive package of claim13, further comprising a centrifugal clutch rotatably attached to theCVT drive shaft and entrained with the coupling drive mechanism.
 16. Thedrive package of claim 13, wherein the coupling drive mechanism is abelt, each of the motor output shaft and the CVT drive shaft having apulley thereon engaging the belt.
 17. An all-terrain vehicle having apair of front ground engaging members and a pair of rear ground engagingmembers, the all-terrain vehicle comprising: a motor having acrankshaft, the crankshaft having a lateral end extending from themotor; an auxiliary drive mechanism rotatably coupled to the lateral endof the crankshaft, the auxiliary drive mechanism being a belt, chain, orshaft extending transverse to a longitudinal axis of the crankshaft; aCVT having a drive shaft and a driven shaft, the drive shaft beingrotatably coupled to the auxiliary drive mechanism; the drive shafthaving a longitudinal axis offset from the longitudinal axis of thecrankshaft, wherein the drive shaft and the driven shaft are disposed ona same fore or aft side of the crankshaft; and a drivetrain having aninput coupled to the driven shaft, a first output shaft driven by theinput and a second output shaft driven by the input, the first outputshaft being coupled to the pair of front ground engaging members and thesecond output shaft being coupled to the pair of rear ground engagingmembers, wherein the first output shaft or the second output shaftpasses under the drive shaft.
 18. The all-terrain vehicle of claim 17,wherein one of the first output shaft or the second output shaft passesunder both of the drive shaft and the motor, and the longitudinal axisof the crankshaft is substantially parallel to, and spatially forwardof, the longitudinal axis of the drive shaft.
 19. The all-terrainvehicle of claim 17, wherein the auxiliary drive mechanism is positionedexternal to the motor.